Full text of "Annual report of the Metropolitan District Commission"

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 



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GOVERN NTS 

DEPARTMEI 

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 



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ANNUAL 
REPORT 



FISCAL YEAR 
ENDING JUNE 30, 1973 



GOV DOC 
6457 
.34 
1973 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2013 



http://archive.org/details/annualreportofme19723mass 




FRANCIS W. SARGENT 
Governor 




CHARLES H. W. FOSTER 
Secretary of Environmental Affairs 




JOHN W. SEARS 
Commissioner 



FRANCIS W. SARGENT 
Governor 

CHARLES H. W. FOSTER 

Secretary of Environmental Affairs 

JOHN W. SEARS 
Commissioner 

Associate Commissioners 

JOHN A. CRONIN 

JOHN F. HAGGERTY 

ARTHUR T. LYMAN, JR. 

VINCENT P. O'BRIEN 

RICHARD I. FURBUSH 
Secretary of the Commission 

MARTIN F. COSGROVE 
Administrative Engineer 

Executive Assistants 

JOHN J. BEADES 

JOHN W. FRENNING 

JAMES T. O'DONNELL 

Chief Administrative Assistants 

JOHN A. KESSLER, JR. 

JOHN F. SNEDEKER 

JOHN W. WRIGHT 
General Counsel 



DIVISION DIRECTORS 



FRANCIS T. BERGIN 

Chief Engineer 
Engineering Division 

LAURENCE J. CARPENTER 
Superintendent of Police 

MASON J. CONDON 

Director of Parks Engineering 

Chief Parks Engineer 



ALLAN GRIEVE, JR. 

Director of Water Division 
Chief Water Supply Engineer 

ALLISON C. HAYES 

Director of Sewerage Division 

Chief Sewerage Engineer 

WILLIAM T. KENNEY 

Acting Director 

Parks & Recreation Division 



HAROLD L. DOWER 
Director of Administrative Services 



MARTIN WEISS 
Director of Environmental Planning 



Publication of this Document Approved by Alfred C. Holland. State Purchasing Agent. 
2000 12 74 109272 Est. Cost $1 .00 




THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT COMMISSION 
20 SOMERSET STREET, BOSTON 02108 



To His Excellency the Governor and the Secretary of Environmental Affairs: 

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives: 

To the Honorable Mayors, Selectmen, and Municipal Officials: 

To the Public of the Metropolitan Parks, Sewer, and Water Districts: 



The Metropolitan District Commissioners submit herewith their Report of the activities of the 
Commission for fiscal 1973, together with financial data for the same period. It is our hope that this 
Report not only satisfies the requirements of Section 100 of Chapter 92 of the General Laws, but 
also proves to be an informative and helpful account of a great state agency. 

The present Commissioners have taken the position that the MDC should be changed in three ways. 

First, its sense of identity, self-reliance, and purpose, had to be restored. We feel that we have 
made substantial progress toward this result by strengthening the agency's capacity to plan, to pro- 
tect its own resources, and to handle its own problems. 

Second, the agency had to be modernized and streamlined, and be more efficient about the pro- 
vision of services and the information provided to those being served. We have moved in this direction 
by realigning divisions and creating new ones, and by stepping up our dialogue within government and 
with the public. 

Third, MDC's dynamism had to be renewed, and the agency had to begin thinking about the long- 
range future of its parks, water supply, and sanitary systems. This has been accomplished by a series 
of major task force efforts. 

During the year 1972-73, these three purposes were forwarded by: positive MDC efforts to join 
the Environmental Family as a member, comprehensive reorganization and centralization of Police 
activities, establishment of Central Personnel, Purchasing and Repair services, termination of the old 
bond-oriented salary and water refinancing systems, and creation of major multi-agency task forces 
on Water Supply and Wastewater. 

Meanwhile, the agency's debt has not, except in Water, increased over 1968 figures. Total per- 
sonnel have declined 4.6% since June 1972 and 11.7% since June 1970. Total cost of operations 
declined 1.4% since last year, and assessments to the cities and towns dropped 2.2%. We think in a 
year of dramatic change and substantial pay increases, these figures show a record of good and care- 
ful administration. 

Respectfully submitted, 




£5£>U^ 



John W. Sears 
Commissioner 



The Year's Highlights 



Significant progress toward enhancing the quality of 
urban life — currently and long-range — has highlighted the 
Metropolitan District Commission's 1973 fiscal year. 

Applying its traditional, regional concept of supplying 
vital services to nearly 2.5 million inhabitants of 54 G reater 
Boston cities and towns, MDC has intensified efforts in 
providing recreation, parks, open space, water supply, pol- 
lution abatement, sewage collection and treatment, law 
enforcement and traffic control. 

The Parks District saw many additional facilities com- 
pleted, featured by 4 rinks, 3 swimming pools, a new 
sailing program and a revival of canoeing on the Charles 
River. In the planning or design stage are large-scale 
recreational projects, including conversion of Mystic River 
Basin into a counterpart of the Charles River Basin and 
Esplanade. Taking shape at Franklin Park Zoo is a dramatic 
"Bird World," a prime example of the zoo's rehabilitation 
theme of a free-moving environment for animals and bird- 
life, to be further reflected in an all-season, 7-acre African 
exhibit in the planning stage. Recreation programming has 
stressed more intensive and diversified use of the parks 
system. The Commission acquired several substantial park 
properties. 

In preparation for the Bicentennial, historic sites are 
being restored and dressed up with new attractions. 

Responding to demands, the Water District's distribu- 
tion system is expanding steadily, while planning for supply 
needs of the next decade and a study looking ahead a half- 
century are progressing. Consumption in excess of safe 
yield of watersheds still exists, underlining the urgency of 
implementing plans for additional sources. The district con- 
tinues to grow, with the 33rd member joining in 1973 and 
another scheduled next year. Projections indicate 41 
additional cities and towns must rely on the MDC system 
for supplementary supply in the next generation. In 
another phase, a fluoridation program is moving toward 
activation. 

Wastewater disposal solutions for the Sewerage District 
are being explored in an intensive study looking ahead 
through 2050. Meanwhile, water quality in Boston Harbor 
and the Charles and Mystic rivers has been upgraded by 
constructing treatment plants, enlarging the interceptor 
sewer system to reduce overflows and rehabilitating harbor 
tidegates. New-type treatment techniques are in prepara- 



CONTENTS 

Parks Development 4 

Recreation Activity 6 

Zoos 9 

Historic Sites 11 

Open Space Acquisition 12 

Pollution Control 13 

Water Supply 16 

Transportation 19 

Metropolitan District Police 20 

Organization 22 

Finances 24 

District Membership 28 

District Map Inside Back Cover 



tion or under study, particularly an in-stream approach on 
the Charles. 

A revamping of the administrative and management 
structure of the Metropolitan District Police is progressing, 
with emphasis on stronger headquarters operation and 
specialized command and staff functions. A Traffic Plan- 
ning unit and a Central Records system are among other 
features of the reorganization program. 

A breakdown of MDC membership shows 43 cities and 
towns with 2,219,000 inhabitants in the Sewerage District; 
33 communities and 1,911,730 residents in the Water Dis- 
trict, and 37 with 2,025,000 population in the Parks 
District. Twenty-three municipalities are members of all 
three districts, 13 are served by 2 districts and 18 by 1 
district. 

MDC's cost for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973, was 
$67,245,705, including $5,557,332 from the State Highway 
Fund and other state-financed activity such as flood control 
projects. This compared with $68,693,211 in 1972, of 
which $8,004,076 came from state sources rather than 
MDC District funding. 



New Rinks, Pools Feature 
Varied Parks Expansion 



A big spurt in new recreational facilities has been seen 
during the year, accompanied by steady growth of activity 
programs and Parks District landholdings, now totaling 
14,332 acres. 

While rinks and pools have highlighted ongoing construc- 
tion, MDC has also been busy developing such projects as 
parks, zoos, sailing, athletic areas, beaches and fishing. 

Large-scale planning and design efforts presage even 
wider expansion of active and passive recreational oppor- 
tunities and upgrading of many existing facilities. 

In anticipation of the Bicentennial celebration, much 
attention is being focused .on enhancing historic sites, 
particularly Bunker Hill, Fort Independence and Fort 
Warren. 

Recreation programming has continued to emphasize 
innovative and more intensive use of the parks system. 

An ambitious construction program has seen MDC's 
largest simultaneous expansion of skating rinks and swim- 
ming pools at an approximate cost of $5.2 million. 

In an unprecedented event, 4 rinks were opened at Can- 
ton, Waltham, Lynn and Weymouth on the same day for the 
1972-73 season, enlarging the rink network to 25. Work 
was started on a rink at the Hormel Stadium athletic com- 
plex in Medford, while planning went forward for others in 
North Cambridge and Boston's North End. 

The North End rink in a projected City of Boston water- 
front park will be unusual in several respects. Among its 
features are a low profile by depressing the skating surface, 
transparent walls at ground level to provide surrounding 
harbor and park views and 500 seats for spectators. 

Enclosure and improvements at rinks in Quincy, Hyde 
Park and South Boston were completed, increasing the 
number of fully-enclosed rinks to 13. 

Three pools were placed in operation in West Roxbury 
and Melrose and in Weymouth — the department's first 
year-round swimming facility — boosting the total to 19 
pools. 

The rinks and pools are scattered throughout the Parks 
District, close to easy access from main roadways and 
situated to serve regional needs. 

For beach-goers, selected sections at Revere and Nan- 
tasket and the entire Tenean beach in Dorchester have been 
upgraded by 125,000 tons of sand and beach erosion prob- 




WOODSY SETTING is a prime natural asset at Cutler 
Park in Need ham and Dedham where unspoiled tranquility 
is found hardly 9 miles from downtown Boston. 

BEACH IMPROVEMENT PROGRESS 

lems have been studied by a professional hydrologist. Most 
beaches have had selective sanding in recent years. A long- 
range program for erosion control at Nantasket and Revere 
is planned in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers 
which has received approval of preliminary funding. 

In the final preparation stage is a multi-faceted improve- 
ment program at Wollaston Beach, where the southerly end 
will be extended and a 3000-foot stretch of Quincy Shore 
Drive relocated and realigned to provide additional parking 
and picnic areas. A revised and expanded concept has pro- 
vided for important environmental considerations such as 
shifting new parking sites to cluster areas on the parkway's 
inland side and a culvert-type structure for replacing Black's 
Creek Bridge to retain existing water level and tidal action 
in the upstream waters. 

Meanwhile, the job of repairing seawalls and other 
damage along MDC's 16-mile oceanfront wreaked by the 
disastrous northeast storm of February, 1972, has been 
completed at an approximate cost of $1.8 million, financed 
in large measure by Federal emergency funds. 

The exciting prospect of converting Mystic River Basin 
into a counterpart of the famed Charles River Basin is being 
finalized in a master plan for a multi-million dollar develop- 
ment of the 525-acre fresh water area between Route 93 
expressway and Amelia Earhart Dam. 



MYSTIC RIVER DEVELOPMENT 

A start has already been made on implementing some 
phases of plans for marine, park, passive and active recrea- 
tional facilities in the onetime tidal estuary which the new 
Earhart Dam transformed in 1966 from unsightly, odorous 
tidal flats into a fresh water expanse. 

Construction began on a $196,000 boathouse and docks 
on the Somerville shoreline off Route 93, patterned after 
the highly-successful sailing program of Community Boating 
on the Charles, founded in 1936. A similar program at 
Pleasure Bay, South Boston, opened during the summer of 
1972. In an adjacent area, a $127,000 site development is 
underway, creating a 2-acre, landscaped park containing 
180 trees, benches, flagstone terrace, walks and parking lot. 

Across the river in Medford, the Hormel Stadium com- 
plex is being enlarged by a new skating rink, along with 
expanded parking space, an additional access road and land- 
scaping. A newly -completed rugby -soccer field in this area, 
described as the only full-sized rugby field in the country, 
was inaugurated by an international, 6-team competition. 

The basin water is being upgraded further by completion 
of a large marginal conduit for combined storm water and 
sewage overflows and a storm detention and chlorination 
treatment installation. 

On the Charles River, Charlesbank Park in Boston's West 
End has been revitalized by installing 2 lighted tennis 
courts, a new football-soccer field, relocation of the base- 
ball field and bleachers and landscaping. Upriver, an athletic 
field house was built at Daly Recreation Center on Nonan- 
tum Road, Brighton-Newton. 

A unique site has provided a 4-acre park and recreation 
area in Jamaica Plain. The location is in the cleared cor- 
ridor of the abandoned Southwest Expressway project, 
which is expected to be a forerunner of other community 
uses of the 6-mile corridor. 

An aesthetic and environmental lift has come from a 
continuing tree and shrub planting program. Over 2000 
additional plantings were placed in parks and along road- 
sides and waterways, swelling the number to 10,000 in 
3 years. 

Just over the horizon are additional significant projects 
for expanding the parks system, highlighted by an indoor 
schoolboy track and sports complex and a riverfront park 
along the Neponset River in Dorchester. 

Selection of the site is being implemented by Commission 
action to acquire 36 acres with 4600 feet of shoreline and 7 
acres offered by the City of Boston at the old Hallet Street 
dump in the Neponset section. 

A large-scale restoration of the onetime great Riverside 

URBAN BACKGROUND of Beacon Hill and downtown 
Boston provides a unique setting for sailing on Charles 
River. (Boston Globe photo by Ellis Herwig) 




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SKI LIFT at Blue Hills Reservation 

Park along Charles River in Newton and Weston is in the 
planning stage. At Stony Brook Reservation in the West 
Roxbury and Hyde Park sections of Boston, an early start 
is due on an extensive face-lift and further development, 
including a wide variety of recreational opportunities. 

Moving along, too, is design work on restoring and de- 
veloping the Magazine Beach recreational area off Memorial 
Drive in Cambridge and installing additional facilities at 
Constitution Beach in East Boston. 

A low-keyed treatment stressing preservation of its 
natural state is destined for Cutler Park in Needham, part 
of the 825-acre reservation of woodlands, marshes and 
meadows extending into Newton and Dedham, near Charles 
River. 

Scheduled for award shortly is a contract for seawall re- 
construction to protect the shoreline of Georges Island. 

In recognition of growing popularity of bicycling for 
physical fitness, recreation and commuting, design work is 
proceeding to complete bikeways around Charles River 
Basin. Bicycle paths are planned also for the Mystic River 
Basin shoreline, Stony Brook Reservation and other loca- 
tions. 

Fishermen are not being overlooked in the park system 
expansion. By next year they will be casting their lines from 
a new recreational fishing pier at the Lynn Harbor mouth of 
Saugus River, MDC's second salt water pier for anglers. The 
other is at Castle Island, South Boston. For fresh-water 
sportsmen, a water quality program was launched at 9 
ponds to improve fishing and other recreation activity. 
These efforts provided for chemical treatment, mechanical 
weed harvesting and aeration techniques to correct weed 
and algae problems. 



Intensive, Diversified Programs 
Widen Recreation Opportunities 



Coincident with expanding facilities and open space, the 
doors to recreational opportunities opened wider through 
new types of activity and growing utilization of the parks 
system. 

The growth of programs and special events has developed 
from a policy of supplementing MDC's own efforts with 
those of municipal agencies and organizations. 

Typifying the diversification of uses, horse and dog 
shows have been held at Blue Hills Reservation, nature 
walks at major reservations, an international rugby tourna- 
ment at Hormel Stadium, a soap box derby at Middlesex 
Fells Reservation and a 4-H Fair at Franklin Park Zoo. 
Pleasure Bay in South Boston was the scene of an Aqua- 
Thing program and a Charles River Festival was held along 
the Esplanade and at Hatch Shell. 

Off-season activity by communities has been encouraged 
at skating rinks to create vacation fun for youngsters, rather 
than leaving the costly facilities idle. At one rink, free ten- 
nis lessons were provided by United States Sports Clubs. 
Street hockey tournaments held forth at 3 rinks, sponsored 
by the National Street Hockey Association. Over 800 
youngsters from several cities and towns enjoyed a variety 
of activity at the East Boston rink, which later accom- 
modated a unique off-season event — a community 
reunion following a Columbus Day parade. Day camps and 
a summer coffeehouse for young people were other ex- 
amples of rink activity. 

Greater public use of MDC waters scored outstanding 
progress with the launching of a new sailing program, a 
construction start on a second sailing facility and the begin- 
ning of a resurgence of canoeing on the Charles River. 

Sailing at Pleasure Bay, South Boston, took off with a 
big splash in the late summer of 1972, involving 400 
neophyte enthusiasts, mostly youngsters. Participation was 
doubled during the 1973 season, highlighted by an inter- 
scholastic regatta with 14 schools in competition. A similar 
program is scheduled for 1974 on the Somerville shore of 
Mystic River Basin. 

The new sailing locations are designed to serve the north 
and south regions of the Parks District, supplementing the 
program operated for MDC by Community Boating, Inc., 
on the Charles. 

Potential for these facilities can be seen in the growth of 
Community Boating, whose junior and senior membership 
has grown from 3008 to 5141 in a 10-year period. The 
number jumped 1007 in the past 2 years. Besides in- 
struction classes and pleasure sailing on the river, 814 
members participated in 29 trips to Boston Harbor islands, 
including 6 overnight camping excursions for seniors. 



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HOCKEY ACT/ON, GRACEFUL FIGURE-SKATING and just skating for fun are 
enjoyed at network of 25 rinks. 



PROGRAMS FOR ELDERLY, HANDICAPPED 

The canoeing revival on the Charles has begun by utiliz- 
ing boat berths, docks and space at the river level of the 
MDC Police Riverside Station in Auburndale for canoe 
rentals. This is seen as a forerunner of a canoeing system at 
14 locations eventually in the 30-mile stretch between 
Wellesley and the Boston Esplanade. 

A helping hand has been extended by providing recrea- 
tional outlets for senior citizens, special children, blind 
students and patients at a veterans hospital. 

For the elderly, half-price fees were established for week- 
day golf and the Children's Zoo, as well as exclusive use of 
4 swimming pools at specified times and sailing at 
Pleasure Bay. Students from Perkins School for the Blind 
and retarded children have also been given sailing ex- 
perience. 

At the new year-round pool in Weymouth, a swimming 
program for retarded and cerebral palsy children from the 
South Shore was inaugurated. Another pool in West Rox- 
bury was used as a rehabilitation technique for spinal 
injury and orthopedic patients at nearby Veterans Ad- 
ministration Hospital. 

A turnout of 1,872,221 at 24 skating rinks in service 
during the 1972-73 season fell below last year's record high 
of 2 million, even though 4 new rinks were opened in 
December. The reduction was seen primarily in general 
skating, which drew 797,221, a decrease of 218,994. This 
was attributed largely to an open winter with unusually 
good natural ice skating conditions. Another factor was 
opening rinks 2 weeks later than in 1972 — mid-October for 
fully -enclosed rinks and mid-November for others — due to 



a budget staffing cut. However, the schedule still repre- 
sented an earlier opening than seasons prior to 1972. 

A total of 19,369 rental hours was made available for 
hockey, speed and figure skating and other groups, accom- 
modating about 1 million skaters. An estimated 75,000 
participated in free physical education and special class 
programs conducted during school hours. In cooperation 
with Boston's School Department 11 rinks were utilized for 
an open campus program. 

Figure skating instruction was opened to adults at 13 of 
20 rinks used by the Metropolitan Figure Skating School, 
previously limited to youngsters, age 7 to 14. 

Conflicting pressures for ice time between youth versus 
school hockey groups was settled in favor of the youngsters 
receiving priority for afternoon hours and older participants 
on school teams being assigned early morning and late even- 
ing hours. Next season some local recreation departments 
will be assuming a major role in scheduling ice time and 
programs for children. 

Clearly, the most popular summer-time activity is bathing 
at 17 ocean beaches and four fresh-water facilities, drawing 
in excess of 15 million, according to estimates. Attendance 
at the network of 19 pools was 473,184. an increase of 
116.116 over 1972. 

Athletics took over baseball, softball and Little League 
fields in solid bookings from April through September. 
Three stadiums, Dilboy in Somerville, Hormel in Medford 
and Daly in Brighton, accommodated many high school 
events, and Daly was also used for Boston State College 
home games. Hormel's rugby field was heavily scheduled 
and many school track practice sessions and season meets 
were held at Dilbov and Hormel stadiums. 




Fifty-five recreation leaders staffed 27 playgrounds and 
the Pleasure Bay sailing program. 

Fishermen had a good year in MDC waters. A welcome 
development saw Quabbin Reservoir rise in elevation suf- 
ficiently to reactivate an access location which had been 
closed by low water since 1966, one of three available to 
anglers. At Cutler Park in Needham, a new public access 
was opened, leading to a 54-acre pond where sampling has 
indicated unusual fishing. 

All-time state records were smashed at Quabbin by 
catches of an 11-pound walleye pike and a 17-pound, 13- 
ounce lake trout. Quabbin's fishing areas drew 59,862 
persons, up 5% over the previous year, and use of private 
boats rose 3% to 12,696. 

HATCH SHELL ATTRACTS 300,000 

Performances at Hatch Shell continued to grow in 
variety and attendance. Thirty free events in the popular 
Charles River Basin riverside and park setting attracted well 
over 300,000, who enjoyed diversified entertainment rang- 
ing from traditional Esplanade Pops concerts of Boston 
Symphony Orchestra and a Bach in the Basin Festival to 
jazz, folk dance troupes and old-time movies. Eighty-six 
band concerts were arranged at beaches and park reserva- 
tions. 

A few miles upstream, free summer theater returned for 
the third season at the outdoor amphitheater on the site of 
the former Metropolitan Boston Arts Center off Soldiers 
Field Road, Allston. The non-profit Publick Theater also 
staged its second series of indoor performances at the former 
Institute of Contemporary Art Building, adjacent to the 
summer theater site. The building and grounds have been 
renamed in honor of former Governor Christian A. Herter. 




NA TURE STUDY for students shown examining fungus 
specimen near MDC's Trailside Museum, picnics and golf 
at Ponkapoag course are among activities at Blue Hills 
Reservation. 



Family Togetherness at Rinks 
Refreshing togetherness was much in evidence at 
skating rinks last season. Family skating programs 
organized by municipal recreation departments and 
Parent-Teacher Associations attracted thousands of 
parents and children, including awkward adults who 
donned skates for the first time in many years. 



Boston Harbor's scenic islands have become a major at- 
traction. Georges Island and its historic Fort Warren lured 
142,500 persons, including 482 outings, 80 camping groups 
and individuals transported by 5 boat lines on scheduled 
or charter trips and by private craft. Visitors were offered 
guided tours, picnic areas, playground and overnight dock- 
ing facilities, indoor and outdoor outing areas, with police, 
guides, maintenance and other personnel on hand. At less- 
developed nearby Lovell's Island, 20,000 persons enjoyed 
105 outings or overnight camping. Off the Hull shore, Ped- 
docks Island was the scene of 35 outings and camping 
groups. The island, acquired in 1970, is available on a 
permit basis, pending further development of public 
facilities. 

Provocative education and stimulating recreation go 
hand in hand in 3 popular programs for school systems 
in the Parks District. These activities offer classroom 
groups free museum visits, films, lectures and demonstra- 
tions in curriculum-related subjects. Participating at the 
Museum of Science were 70,686 individuals — an increase 
of 923 over 1972 - ranging from 137 for Nahant to 
19,085 for Boston. A choice of 11 different science lecture- 
demonstrations was available. The Children's Museum 
drew 29,178 in school and community groups, up 2167 
over last year, and Trailside Museum had 14,980, a rise of 
5327. 




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CHARLES RIVER SHORELINE is lined with varied 
park, recreation and athletic facilities. Among them are the 
famed Hatch Shell and this typical playground. 

(Photo by Jack Maley, MDC) 

Among other activities were: 

Ponkapoag's 36-hole layout in Canton, 97,237 rounds, 
up 6394 over 1972; Martin Memorial's 18-hole course in 
Weston, 41,245 rounds, an increase of 1394. Major events 
at Ponkapoag included the CYO tournament with 505 
entries, New England Junior Golf Championship, 630 
entries, and the second annual Massachusetts Public Links 
Championship, 80 competitors. 

Zoos - Franklin Park, Boston, estimated attendance 
400,000; Walter D. Stone, Stoneham, estimated 300,000; 
Franklin Park Children's Zoo, 192,784; Boston Zoological 
Society's Zoomobile, 210 appearances; MDC Traveling 
Zoo, 111 appearances during summer season. 

Trailside Museum, Canton, 83,840 

Bunker Hill Monument, 53,222 

Blue Hills Ski Area, Canton-Milton, 20,000 skiers and 
15,000 at ski school. 

Boston Children's Theater Stagemobile, 2 plays at each 
of 10 locations during school vacation. 






REVERE BEACH is the most heavily-attended of MDC's 17 
ocean beaches. (Lynn Item photo by Bob Crosby) 

"Bird's World" Project Underway 
In Dramatic Zoo Development 

Transforming Franklin Park Zoo into the modern con- 
cept of a free-moving environment for animals and birdlife 
has taken a big step forward with work well underway on a 
dramatic "Bird's World." 

The project is designed to rehabilitate the dilapidated 
original flight cage built in 1912. incorporating a completely 
new interior and an elevated walkway where visitors mingle 
with flying birds among trees, plants, waterfalls and water- 
ways. Adjacent to the avian - , the exhibit extends into a 
three-level system of pools and a natural waterfall containing 
a wide variety of water and marsh birds. 

A reconstructed birdhouse is another phase of the SI. 6 
million complex, where interior displays will show bird col- 
lections in their indigenous environment, supplemented by 
graphic signs and other educational aids. The area is being 
enhanced by a big landscaping program, including over 
5,000 trees, shrubs and other foliage. 

The complex, scheduled for completion in 1974, is the 
first major development undertaken by MDC and the Boston 
Zoological Society since BZS assumed management in 1970. 
The organization also operates MDC's Children's Zoo 
at Franklin Park, Walter D. Stone Zoo in Stoneham and 
Trailside Museum in the Blue Hills Reservation. 

The multi-faceted program at these facilities has been re- 
flected in higher attendance figures, reaching nearly 1 
million in 1973, an increase of almost 100.000 over 1972. 

Among these improvements, reconstruction of the range 
area and barns at Franklin Park has been completed, featur- 
ing 8 new moated exhibits which eliminate fences and other 
barriers and provide an unobstructed view of free-running 
hooved animals. 

Steady progress has been made in improving and enlarg- 
ing the animal collection at Franklin Park and Stone zoos. 





ZOO INHABITANTS include otters, penguins, sea lion 
silhouetted against sky and rhinocerous. 

emphasizing replacement of single animals with breeding 
groups or pairs, as well as acquiring rare and endangered 
animals. This is an effort to protect species from extinction 
and also yield greater return from sale of offspring, thus 
providing funds for further upgrading of the animal 
collection. 

Steps have been taken to provide conveniences for 
visitors. Two new service centers have been opened, in- 
cluding rest rooms, refreshment stands and tables and chairs. 
A soft-tired trackless train has been installed as a combi- 
nation lecture tour and transportation system. 

Fun and education have also moved beyond zoo walls on 
a big scale, as the BZS Zoomobile traveled to display and 
explain species of small animals. There were 210 ap- 
pearances, 108 of them in classrooms to provide a learning 
experience for schoolchildren. During the summer season, 
the MDC Traveling Zoo made 111 visits to parks and play- 
grounds throughout the Metropolitan Parks District. 

At Stone Zoo, efforts have centered on upgrading and 
modifying exhibits, such as rebuilding the penguin display, 
extensive planting and landscaping of the aviary, adding 
animals to the African veldt scene and a new exhibit of local 
water birds. The grounds have been embellished with more 
trees and flowers and a picnic area. 

Still ahead is Franklin Park Zoo's unique centerpiece — 
an innovative, indoor-outdoor zoological exhibit in which 





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large land animals can be seen all year. 

The concept provides for natural settings and un- 
obstructed animal display of African wildlife through the 
use of hidden moats and scenic background. The facility 
will stress an educational and interpretive program to foster 
greater understanding and preservation of the environment 
and the inter-relationships between mankind and other 
living creatures. A big educational feature is the inclusion 
of an auditorium, reference library, classrooms, teacher 
resource center and an audio-visual center. 

A feasibility study has now been completed and sche- 
matic designs are in progress. 

An $8 million allocation has been made from MDC's 1972 
environmental capital outlay bond issue, while other fi- 
nancing is being sought from Federal agencies. An intensive 
drive for $6 million from private sources is also being 
planned by BZS. 



10 





HISTORIC SITES are being embellished for Bicentennial 
celebration, among them Fort Independence on Castle 
Island in South Boston and Dorothy Quincy House in 
Quincy. (Fort photo by Aerial Photos of N. E.) 



Historic Sites Being Enhanced 
For Bicentennial Celebration 



The coming Bicentennial observance has stimulated 
activity in enhancing historic landmarks in the parks system 
for the benefit of an influx of visitors and residents. 

As a prime magnet for the celebration. Bunker Hill Battle- 
field and Monument is being given a multi-lingual, electronic 
voice to relate the portentous events of June 17. 1775. 
This is a system being installed to provide a narrator's de- 
scription of the battle through wireless headsets in simulated 
voices of Colonial and British officers while visitors view 
nearby locations associated with the event. 

A similar installation is planned for Fort Warren on 
Georges Island in Boston Harbor, tracing its role in defending 
the harbor in all American wars and its use as a Civil War 
prison for Confederate civil and military personnel. 

A descriptive narration will also be used at Fort 
Independence on Castle Island. South Boston, relating a 
military history stretching to pre-Revolutionary War years. 

Tree planting has dressed up Bunker Hill grounds and 



11 




future upgrading calls for landscaping and improved exterior 
lighting, new historical exhibits and refurbishing the lodge 
at the monument base. 

A master plan for restoring Fort Independence is well 
advanced, designed to create interior exhibits and a view of 
Boston Harbor from the fort's ramparts. One phase provides 
for an archaeological investigation to recover artifacts. A 
$1 million allocation for the program also covers develop- 
ment of recreational areas at Castle Island and adjoining 
Pleasure Bay. The fort's potential for dramatic portrayal 
of history was demonstrated by a week-end bivouac of a 
detachment of the Brigade of the American Revolution in 
full Colonial Army uniform and equipment. 

Another historic landmark, the Dorothy Quincy House 
in Quincy, is undergoing a facelift, including both structural 
and landscaping renovations to restore its original ap- 
pearance, based on research of the interior and exterior 
color and architectural details. 

A memorial to intriguing historical lore — the crumbling, 
30-foot Norumbega tower overlooking Charles River in 
Weston — has been dismantled and restored, stone by stone. 
It was erected in 1889 in tribute to Leif Erikson, the Norse 
explorer who is believed by some historians to have ex- 
plored the Charles River in 1000 A.D. and led Norsemen in 
building a settlement at Norumbega. 




BUNKER HILL MONUMENT and Fort Warren on 
Georges Island are expected to be major attractions during 
Bicentennial celebration. 

(Monument photo by Jack Maley, MDC) 



Open Space Expansion Stressed 
To Meet Growing Urban Needs 



Preserving existing open space and expanding land- 
holdings for recreational and ecological purposes have 
become increasingly vital to urban population needs. The 
Parks District holdings have now reached 14,332 acres. 

Reflecting an energetic policy in this direction, MDC has 
enlarged Breakheart Reservation by acquiring the 50-acre 
Boy Scout property at Camp Nihan in Saugus. The area is 
being used primarily by organizations on a permit basis for 
overnight camping and day camp purposes, serving such 
groups as Boy Scouts, Camp Fire girls and special programs 
for youngsters. 

Aggressive action has been demanded in at least two 
instances. A vigorous, last-ditch battle led to acquisition of 
a prized, 4-acre shore property on Charles River in Needham, 
known as Village Falls, which had been bought by a private 
group. A 10-year extension of a lease of 8 acres on 
Chickatawbut Hill in the Blue Hills, intended as a center for 
youthful offenders, was also blocked. 

The drive for other shorefront sites on the Charles saved 
for public use a 4V2-acre area in Newton and a 2'/2-acre tract 
at the Natick-Wellesley line. At the Stony Brook Reserva- 
tion in the Hyde Park section of Boston, a 5-acre tract was 
acquired from the city. Further progress was made toward 
expanding holdings at Mother Brook in Boston's Readville 
section and Dedham for recreation and flood control pur- 
poses. Negotiations are continuing for purchase of 30 acres 
of surplus Federal land on the southerly end of Deer Island. 



12 




PROJECTED CHARLES RIVER DAM in artist's conception shows (left to right) MDC Police patrol boat facility, 3 navi- 
gation locks, pumping station and Paul Revere Landing Park providing a link to USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) docked at 
Charlestown Navy Yard. Another major benefit is virtual elimination of salt water intrusion into the basin and its pollutant 
effect. 

Clean-Water Progress Seen In Harbor, River Programs 



Movement toward clean-water goals in Boston Harbor 
and its tributaries is showing marked progress, coinciding 
with a start on a far-reaching study of wastewater disposal 
solutions for the Metropolitan Sewerage District through 
the year 2050. 

Significant results already achieved in upgrading quality 
of harbor waters are being broadened with an ongoing 
program of rehabilitating defective tidegates at sewerage 
line overflows, plans for sludge disposal at treatment plants 
and steps to develop more advanced methods of sewage 
treatment. 

Along the Charles and Mystic rivers, new treatment 
techniques and miles of huge trunk sewer lines are pro- 
ceeding to alleviate pollution and, at the same time, 
reduce influx of pollutants into the harbor. 

Clearing the way for strides in these directions was the 
$110 million environmental capital outlay budget of 1972, 
earmarking $83 million for pollution abatement projects, 
in addition to $7 million for an innovative clean water pro- 
gram on the Charles voted the same year. Available, also, 
is a $13 million authorization for the present Charles River 



estuary which will become a part of the lower basin when 
the new dam is constructed. 

Much of the program is designed to meet wastewater 
treatment standards for Boston Harbor as outlined by the 
Federal Environmental Protection Agency, including pro- 
posed conversion of the Deer Island and Nut Island plants 
from primary to secondary treatment. 

In one phase of the harbor program. MDC is moving 
toward eliminating disposal of digested sludge at outfalls in 
the outer harbor emanating from Deer Island and Nut Island 
plants. A study of alternatives by an MDC task force and a 
consultant engineering firm concluded that incineration 
was the most desirable method from the viewpoint of cost 
benefit and environmental and sanitation solutions. The 
system would also incorporate heat recovery for generating 
electric power. Next step is preparation of plans and specifi- 
cations. 

Rehabilitation of defective tidegates is Hearing comple- 
tion to remedy a significant source of inner harbor pollution 
and eliminate an adverse effect on sewage treatment at Deer 
Island. Based on an inspection of 187 tidegates in Boston's 



13 




main drainage system and 42 in East Boston, Charlestown 
and Chelsea, 46 installations have been corrected at an ap- 
proximate cost of $400,000. About 50 required no repairs. 
Malfunctioning tidegates permit intrusion of millions of 
gallons of sea water into the Boston and MDC sewerage 
systems at high tide, diminishing normal capacity and 
flushing sewage into the harbor on each tide cycle. 

A milestone in pollution abatement is due early in 1974 
when the last-remaining sewer line continuously discharging 
untreated sewage into the harbor will be shut down. A 
daily flow of 1 million gallons from Quincy's Squantum 
section is scheduled for diversion from Boston's Moon 
Island outlet by activating the new $2.7 million Squantum 
Force Main, a 3-3/4 mile link to the MDC Nut Island 
Sewage Treatment Plant in Quincy Bay. 

These developments supplement the 1968 activation of 
the Deer Island primary treatment plant, a keystone of 
MDC's sewerage system, which has had a marked effect on 
improving harbor water quality. Evidence of these results 
has included re-opening of Winthrop town beaches and shell- 
fish areas in the area, as well as a dramatic drop in median 
coliform concentrations near Deer Island outfalls and a 
substantial impact on the harbor's bacterial level. 

NEW TECHNIQUES FOR CHARLES RIVER 

On the Charles River, clean-water techniques are pointing 
toward novel instream treatment methods, along with build- 
ing traditional pollution control facilities. 

An advanced installation has begun operation at Storrow 



(Photo by Tom Reilly, MDC) 



Lagoon on Boston's Esplanade shoreline, utilizing a chemical 
method for removal of color and pollutants, mostly flowing 
from swamps and urban runoff, such as streets and parking 
lots and dumps. The small pilot plant will determine the 
feasibility of a full-scale facility to treat up-river flow into 
the basin. 

In another in-stream approach, MDC has authorized 
design and installing experimental aeration equipment to 
deal with localized pollutants caused mainly by storm run- 
off. The first site would be near Havey Beach in West 
Roxbury, with the prospect of other locations along the 
river basin. 

A unique magnetic process operating from a floating 
barge may provide an additional method of cleaning the 
Charles, particularly the pool of stagnant salt water on the 
basin bottom caused by harbor inflow through the Charles 
River Dam. Preparation of preliminary design and cost 
estimates has been approved. 

Further influx of salt water will be controlled by the 
new $41 million Charles River Dam to be built below North 
Station by the Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation 
with MDC. The multi-purpose facility, scheduled for con- 
struction start next spring, will provide flood protection, 
improve water quality, relieve navigation congestion at the 
old dam by incorporating three locks and include a fish 
ladder. 

Additional pollution abatement is planned in the river 
estuary area. This project will extend sewer relief conduits 
on the Boston and Cambridge shorelines to a new storm 
detention, chlorination and pumping station for ultimate 



14 




CHARLES RIVER UPLIFT takes many forms. Among 
them are a massively -equipped storm detention and ch/orin- 
ation station above B. U. Bridge, and this typical 8-foot- 
dia meter sewer conduit (left page) and canoeing cleanup 
volunteers. (Photo by Tom Reilly, MDC) 



discharge of treated overflows to tidewater beyond the new 
dam. 

In another facet of the clean-water program, polluting 
overflows will be cut back by completion of a large North 
Charles relief sewer in Cambridge at an estimated $13.2 
million cost. Construction has entered the third of a four- 
phased project which will stretch 3 miles from the vicinity 
of Mt. Auburn Hospital to Main Street. The sewer line, 
with pipes as big as 8'/2 feet in diameter, is designed to 
enlarge existing capacity for carrying off combined storm 
water and sewage overflows to Deer Island, along with a 
link to the new Cottage Farm Stormwater Treatment 
Station near B. U. Bridge. 

The Cottage Farm plant is an advanced method of al- 
leviating overflows of storm water and sewage from com- 
bined sewers of Cambridge, Brookline and the South Charles, 
which has been in operation for two years. The treatment 
process provides for settling and chlorination before dis- 
charging effluent into the river and subsequent flushing of 
solids from detention tanks into sewer lines for treatment 
at Deer Island. The facility was activated 44 times in 1973 
and processed 462 million gallons of excess flow. Its capac- 
ity is 233 million gallons per day. 

A similar installation becomes operative this fall in the 
Mystic River Basin, as part of a $1.6 million project to deal 
with overflows of storm water and sewage discharging from 
Somerville's combined sewerage system. The Somerville 
marginal conduit was designed to carry the excess flow to 
tidewater below the new Amelia Earhart Dam. The storm 



detention and treatment process features innovative auto- 
matic controls and a unique hypochlorite generator for 
producing chlorine. 

As a final phase of the Earhart Dam's flood control func- 
tions, 3 large diesel engines, pumping units and related 
equipment have been ordered at a cost of SI. 6 million, 
preparatory to a construction start next year on a S5 mil- 
lion structure to house the equipment. 

In addition to flood control, the program has wiped out 
odorous, unsightly tidal flats in the estuary by maintaining 
a constant fresh water level and paved the way for devel- 
oping the basin area for varied park, sports and marine recre- 
ational opportunities. 

Cleanup of debris and vegetation and dredging of Alewife 
Brook from Cambridge to Mystic River was completed, 
while treatment of aquatic weeds, algae and chlorides con- 
tinued on Upper Mystic Lake. 

In Maiden, a dual-purpose $7.1 million flood control 
project and an adjoining interceptor trunk sewer were in the 
final stage on Saugus Branch Brook, a tributary of Maiden 
River, which in turn empties into Mystic River Basin. An- 
other job to eliminate flooding at West End Brook was 
completed under a $1.4 million contract. 

While short-range goals of MDC's 43-member Sewerage 
District are being implemented, the comprehensive engi- 
neering-management study of wastewater needs through 
2050 has swung into action. Its scope has been broadened 



Volunteer Cleanup Effort 
Easing Litter Problems 

Off-season accumulation of litter and junk along 
MDC waterways, park reservations and beaches still 
pose a problem, but citizen concern over this blemish 
of the environment has been much in evidence and 
apparently productive. 

Volunteer cleanup drives have continued for the 
fourth year, drawing thousands of conservation- 
minded adults, college and high school groups and 
youngsters as participants. Their efforts are producing 
results, according to the Charles River Watershed 
Association, which coordinated the annual river clean- 
up in 1973. 

A spokesman described "much better conditions 
than ever before and a more positive attitude toward 
the Charles on the part of at least some offenders." 
Best evidence of reduced litter was the 103 truck- 
loads carried away from the Charles, about one-third 
of the previous year's pickup. 



15 




HUGE FLOOD PROTECTION PUMP is one of 6 to be 
installed in new Charles River Dam and Locks now under 
construction. Pumps can discharge 3.7 million gallons per 
minute of flood runoff from Charles Basin into Boston 
Harbor against high tides. 

(Photo by Army Corps of Engineers) 

to 109 communities and participation by 5 other govern- 
ment agencies, with major emphasis on open planning 
public meetings. 

The program is considering engineering, economic and 
wide-ranging environmental aspects. Among them are 
population projections, land disposal of sewage, treatment 
techniques, including land disposal of effluent, re-use and 
reclamation; industrial waste, geographical limits of sewerage 
systems, "fair share" charges for communities and industry 
and administrative structures. 

The $2 million wastewater management planning pro- 
gram, jointly financed by MDC and the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, is directed by the 2 financing agencies and the 
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, State Division of Water 
Pollution Control, Office of State Planning and Management 
and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Coordination 
and management is being provided by MDC's Environmental 
Planning Office, a newly-created unit reflecting the growing 
emphasis on environmental concern. 



Broad Water Supply Study 
Prepares 50-year Blueprint 



Detailed studies of long-range programs to expand water 
supply and upgrade and extend distribution lines have been 
pushed into the forefront during fiscal 1973. 

Impetus for a clear-cut blueprint to meet growing needs 
has come from a $1 million allocation for comprehensive 
planning, underlined by current consumption beyond safe 
yield and the prospect of an enlarged Metropolitan Water 
District. 

A newly-formed Metropolitan Water Supply Develop- 
ment Committee is conducting the program, coordinated 
by MDC and including representatives of the U.S. Corps of 
Engineers, State Department of Public Health, State Water 
Resources Commission, Metropolitan Area Planning Council 
and public members. 

While the overall study will look ahead at least 50 years, 
plans are well advanced for filling demands of the next 
decade or more, principally by flood-skimming excess flow 
of the Connecticut River and a major distribution tunnel 
project in its final stages. 

An interim plan is being prepared for expediting service 
south of Boston to the towns of Avon, Holbrook, Randolph 
and Stoughton and increasing the supply already being pro- 
vided by MDC to Canton. Previously, a feasibility report 
had been completed for these communities, as well as 
Braintree and Weymouth. 

An intensive study of the upper Sudbury River water- 
shed is underway to determine the potential supply from the 
75 square mile area by tapping and treating freshet flows. 
The MDC's Sudbury reservoir supply presently draws from 
a 22 square mile watershed. 

Water Division engineers also participated in a water 
supply survey covering 40 municipalities in conjunction with 
the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. 
The report concluded that future needs of most of these 
communities can be met from groundwater sources and also 
surface water where necessary. Increased diversion of the 
Ware River and tapping Quaboag River were mentioned as 
possibilities for feeding Quabbin if greatly enlarged MDC 
supply is needed in Central Massachusetts. 

Meanwhile, preparations were being made to study ex- 
isting distribution facilities for determining methods of 
upgrading and expanding the system and another program 
to examine water use, with emphasis on reducing waste and 
developing other conservation techniques. 

Two factors brought some relief to the water supply 
situation in the form of above average rainfall during 1972 
and 1973 and a slight drop in consumption, which reversed 
an upward trend. 

But engineers warned against complacency for the 



16 




QUABBIN RESERVOIR'S MAGNITUDE, stretching 18 miles in length, provides most of the Water District's supply, 
while its surrounding wide-ranging forest and hills retain an unspoiled wilderness setting. (Aerial photo by Jack Maley, MDC) 



future, based on analysis of long-range statistics covering 
average precipitation, population trends and particularly 
water use, which is still running above safe yield, according 
to long-term calculations. 

MDC's principal water supply at Quabbin Reservoir rose 
to 89.3% of capacity as of June 30, 1973 and 5.85 feet 
below maximum elevation — highest level in 10 years. A 
year previously, Quabbin had only risen to 70.7% of 
capacity. The 39 square mile reservoir has not been full 
since 1961, the beginning of a 6-year drought which lowered 
the giant reservoir to 45% of capacity by 1967. Precipita- 
tion had been below normal for 9 of the 12 vears, prior to 
1972. 

Quabbin's level was swelled in 1972 by 10.34 inches of 
precipitation above the 44-inch annual average and an ex- 
cess of 7.5 inches in 1973. 

Consumption had soared to a daily average of 321.6 
million gallons in 1971 — a record high — falling to 318.7 
mg in 1972 and 316 mg during 1973. The fall-off was 
attributed to lessened summertime demand in the two wet 
years. 

With these periods still well in excess of the system's 
long-range safe yield of 300 mgd, the urgency of supple- 
menting supply sources remained acute. The specter of 



running short of water in the early '80's persists. 

Preparations are going forward for augmenting Quabbin 
sources by flood-skimming, under specified conditions, 
about l r f of the Connecticut River's excess freshet flow 
which now wastes into the Atlantic. 

The plan will bolster MDC's annual supply by an average 
of 72 mgd — nearly 25% of the current safe yield. It pro- 
vides for a 10-mile aqueduct link between Quabbin and the 
Northfield Mt. pumped storage reservoir built by Northeast 
Utilities for hydro-electric power production. Terms of an 
agreement with Northeast are being negotiated. 

To expedite the $35 million project. MDC has already 
prepared aerial surveys, mapping, field work, engineering 
studies of the aqueduct route, borings and right of way 
requirements. 

Flood-skimming in other locations is also in prospect to 
meet anticipated demands for the '90*s and into the next 
century. Besides the Sudbury River potential, a recent 
study pointed toward tapping the Tully and Millers rivers 
in Central Massachusetts and eventually using a cleaned-up 
Merrimack River. 

These possibilities grew out of an inter-agency study 
indicating an estimated rise in demands from the current 
316 mgd up to 475 mgd through 1990. The future needs 



17 



were based on supplementing local sources of 41 communi- 
ties in addition to 33 members of the Metropolitan Water 
District and 10 others served under special agreements. 

The law stipulates that MDC must admit to the Water 
District any community within 10 miles of the State House 
and any other municipality within 15 miles which the Com- 
mission "can reasonably supply." Eight of the 41 potential 
members are within 10 miles, 23 in the 10-15mile zone and 
10 beyond 15 miles with no option other than MDC for 
future supply. 

Among the 8 listed as prospective partial-user mem- 
bers within the 10-mile zone, the city of Woburn has now 
joined the Water District as the 33rd member and the town 
of Wellesley is finalizing an agreement. 

The new facilities feeding Woburn will have sufficient 
capacity for eventually serving the towns of Reading and 
North Reading and also filling future needs of Stoneham 
and Wakefield, both present members of the Water District. 
Under construction is a $1,396,000 pipeline linking Woburn 
with Spot Pond Reservoir where a new pumping station 
will be built. 

A big leap forward in enlarging the water distribution 
system is scheduled for late 1974 with completion of the 
$19.1 million Dorchester Tunnel — largest distribution pipe- 
line project in many years. 

The 10-foot diameter tunnel runs 6.3 miles from the City 
Tunnel in Chestnut Hill, at the Brighton-Brookline line, to 
Dorchester Lower Mills. It is designed to feed 300 mgd to 
the Southern Water District, supplementing existing capacity 
of 105 million gallons a day and improve water pressure for 
800,000 residents in Brighton, Dorchester, Hyde Park, 
Roxbury, Mattapan, South Boston, West Roxbury, Brook- 
line, Quincy, Milton, Canton and Norwood. 

Climaxing 5 years of drilling, blasting and boring 220 to 
350 feet below the surface, the tunnel will also pave the 
way for supplying prospective district members south of 
Boston. 

The race against mounting demands saw another large 
distribution pipeline completed — a 48-inch main running 
2.75 miles in Somerville and Medford at a cost of $4.2 mil- 
lion. The line increases available quantity and reinforces 
pressure for an estimated 325,000 residents of Medford, 
Somerville, Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge. 

An intricate $1.3 million project was finished under the 
Chelsea River, where a 36-inch water main was installed in 
the ship channel, replacing one of the 2 under-river lines 
serving East Boston. The new line was required at a lower 
level because of the growth in the size of oil tankers using 
the channel. 

Preparations for fluoridation as a dental health measure 
were in progress. An engineering study of chemicals and 
procedures was completed and the Commission promptly 
authorized preparation of plans and specifications for 
design of plant and equipment at a cost of $1 million. The 
technique will include the addition of alkaline chemicals to 




HUGE DORCHESTER TUNNEL nearing completion is 
6.3 miles long and 10 feet in diameter, the largest pipeline 
addition to the distribution system in many years. 

adjust the pH factor and prevent increased corrosivity re- 
sulting from fluoridation. This process will also alleviate a 
problem in some older neighborhoods where acidic (soft) 
water may presently be affecting lead pipes. 

While annual operating expense will run about $600,000, 
fluoridation on a district-wide basis will provide a substantial 
saving for member communities as compared to individual 
fluoridating systems. Many millions of dollars will be saved, 
too, in dental care for persons under the age of 20 by re- 
ducing tooth decay, according to the Massachusetts Dental 
Society. 

The program was launched on the basis of a ruling by 
the Attorney General, who said that MDC must fluoridate 
its water supply in view of favorable action by a majority of 
Boards of Health in the Water District. Health officials in 
28 of 33 member communities have gone on record for 
fluoridation. 

On the financial side, MDC's longtime efforts were being 
renewed to obtain legislative approval for a pay-as-you-go 
method of meeting Water District costs, rather than the 
provision for piling up debt and interest obligations to de- 
fray annual deficits which has been in effect since 1945. 
This practice accounts for $54.5 million of the water 
system's $130 million outstanding bond indebtedness as of 
June 30, 1973. 



18 



Traffic Congestion, Safety Needs 
Challenge MDC Roadway System 

Smoothing movement and improving safety for vehicular 
and pedestrian traffic in Metropolitan Boston has become 
an increasingly difficult goal. 

The problem has been intensified by constantly mounting 
volume, peak-hour strain by commuting motorists and a 
trend toward minimizing growth of expressway -type access 
into the core areas. 

Much of the responsibility lies with MDC which patrols 
and maintains many main arteries and parkways within 
Route 128 and provides policing of the Northeast Express- 
way, Central Artery and Southeast Expressway, which are 
owned and maintained by the State Department of Public 
Works. 

Although traffic solutions have turned to expanded mass 
transit, there is still a pressing need for improving MDC 
thoroughfares, relieving congested traffic and dealing with 
strained and weakened bridges, while maintaining and en- 
hancing scenic parkway values. 

Construction is proceeding on replacement of the worn- 
out, unsafe, 69-year-old Prison Point Bridge between East 
Cambridge and Charlestown, with a spring 1974 opening 
planned. The project is being built for MDC by the State 
Department of Public Works, an arrangement which quali- 
fied for 100% Federal reimbursement of the $3.9 million 
cost under a railroad bridge replacement program. 

The 4-lane structure is connected to the recently re- 
constructed Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown and includes 
a pedestrian overpass for improved access to the new Bunker 
Hill Community College. The bridge also ties in with a 
major traffic relief program for the Northern Artery system 
from East Cambridge to Wellington Circle, Medford. 

Another focal point is Morrissey Boulevard, serving as 
the automobile gateway to the new University of Massachu- 
setts-Boston campus at Columbia Point, Dorchester. 

A comprehensive area-wide intersection improvement 
effort was undertaken along the boulevard in cooperation 
with the City of Boston, State DPW, the university and 
community groups. Fourteen intersections were assembled 
in one improvement package for 1974 completion. The 
improvements include changes at Freeport Street, the 
university entrance, Kosciuszko and Pulaski Circles and Old 
Colony Avenue. In addition, the old Patten's Cove culvert 
is being replaced by a stronger, modern structure. 

Signalized intersections will be coordinated to provide 
smooth traffic flow with improved pedestrian access across 
busy Morrissey Boulevard at various locations. This is 
another project proceeding in conjunction with the State 
DPW. Federal funds are being requested for the $1.2 mil- 
lion job through DPW. 




SOLDIERS FIELD ROAD in Boston, with Larz Ander- 
son Bridge in background, handles heavy traffic but retains 
park and scenic features along the Charles River. 

A major parkway, beach erosion and landscaping pro- 
ject is underway on Quincy Shore Drive to improve safety, 
pedestrian access and open space amenities. The first phase, 
slated for completion shortly, includes new traffic signals, 
a flood control culvert, trunk line sewer connection and 
improved roadway profile. This will be followed by a new 
median, resurfacing, street-lighting and better safety control 
of parking and pedestrian access. 

Several significant roadway reconstruction and major re- 
surfacing projects were completed or substantially under- 
way. Among them were major sections of the Jamaicaway. 
Riverway and Memorial Drive and a complete redesign and 
reconstruction of Greenough Boulevard adjacent to the 
Watertown Arsenal and Charles River. The riverside boul- 
evard work incorporates new drainage, curbing, pedestrian 
and bicycle paths and landscaping, due for completion next 
year. 

A severe problem arising from rundown and over- 
burdened bridges still faces MDC, handicapped by lack of 
adequate financing which is being sought again this year 
from the State Highway Fund. 

Some of these are structures dating to the horse and 
buggy days and others built for pleasure vehicles on park- 
way systems and later pressed into service for general traffic 
and trucking. 

With the increase in traffic loads and truck weights up to 



19 



70 tons, many of these bridges have suffered badly from the 
ravages of time and heavy loads. Pending available fi- 
nancing, emergency repair contracts have been awarded for 
5 important bridges during 1973 at a cost of $375,000, 
causing considerable traffic inconvenience. 

First steps to initiate preliminary design have been taken 
in several cases, preparatory to launching an estimated $17.5 
million program. 

The larger structures requiring replacement, new super- 
structures or other major work include Harvard Bridge over 
Charles River, Wellington Bridge between Somerville and 
Medford, Columbia Road Bridge in Dorchester, 2 rail- 
road bridges on Alewife Brook Parkway in Cambridge, 
Dorchester Bay Bridge, a McGrath Highway bridge in Somer- 
ville and General Lawrence Bridge, Veterans Memorial Park- 
way, Medford. 

As a vital adjunct to roadway construction, MDC is 
carrying on a continuous program for improving traffic and 
street lights as safety measures. There are 62 locations on 
MDC parkways and boulevards where traffic signals are in 
some stage of final design. Numerous other intersections 
are undergoing preliminary design work. Street lighting 
improvements are undergoing preparation or construction 
on Alewife Brook Parkway, Hammond Pond Parkway, VFW 
Parkway, and the Storrow Drive and Esplanade area. 

Consultants have completed a study and preliminary 
designs for modifications on two key roadways, Storrow 
Drive -Soldiers Field Road in Boston and the Lynnway in 
Lynn. 

To improve the pleasure qualities of travel on parkways 
an extensive tree-planting program is continuing. Increased 
attention is also being given to planning recreational and 
commuter bikeways in response to the increased use of 
bicycles. A major contract for improvements and ex- 
tension of bikepaths along Charles River is under prepara- 
tion for a construction start next year. 




Charles River Bikeway 



Police Reorganization Stresses 
Centralized Management System 



Change has continued to be the dominant theme of the 
Metropolitan Police during the past year. The emphasis, 
however, switched to internal operations and management 
following the submission of a Federally-funded consultant 
report. 

The report stressed that MDC's police force has adapted 
to the changing needs of our times through innovative oper- 
ational measures, but its administrative and management 
structure has not kept pace, despite tremendous growth of 
miles of expressways and roads and the increase in crime 
felt everywhere. 

To cope more effectively with the tasks of controlling 
and managing a force of 650 men spread over an area of 
500 square miles and performing a large variety of duties, 
the report recommends a more centralized management and 
information system. Of equal importance is the fact that 
the report recommends some changes in the decentralized 
concept of service delivery, embodied in the existence of 
seven major police stations in the metropolitan area. 
Essential to modernization is the building of a stronger 
headquarters operation with increased specialization at the 
command and staff levels to complement the various tasks 
and services performed by the decentralized patrol personnel. 

The major theme of the reorganization is the assignment 
of command responsibility in each major area of police 
activity. Thus, the many supportive activities for effective 
patrol and response as well as actual patrol operations will 
each be under the command of a deputy superintendent. 

TRAFFIC PLANNING UNIT 

A Traffic Planning unit has been established to begin 
studying the major problems of commuter traffic flow, 
accident investigation and prevention and enforcement. It 
is possible that this study will result in the formation of a 
large squad of men devoted exclusively to these major 
problems. 

To insure responsible command capability at all times of 
the day or night a Watch Commander function has been 
organized. With this step the division is beginning to move 
towards a more centrally controlled operation. Improve- 
ment in the radio communication system will provide 
increased coverage and better communication between head- 
quarters and the various stations. A system of satellite 
receivers, purchased with Federal and State funds, will pro- 
vide input to a system which will automatically select the 
best radio signal, thus giving a clearer message to the radio 
dispatchers. 



20 




VARIED FUNCTIONS are performed by MDC Police, 
among them mounted patrol, underwater recovery, boatmen 
and traffic control on 186 miles of roadways. 



Essential to all of these improvements and changes will 
be a Central Records system. This will provide command 
personnel with accurate, timely information about events 
and resources. Such data will enable them to assign men 
and equipment to areas where they are most needed. The 
procedure will be an expansion of an existing system for 
pinpointing traffic accidents. 

The existing accident information system provides com- 
parative data for hundreds of locations throughout the 
Metropolitan Parks District. Accidents are recorded by 
type, time, cause and other significant data. Citations 
issued by police officers are also recorded for each of these 
locations. Thus, commanders can compare enforcement 
efforts and accident records as a guide to highway safety 
operations. This information has been and will continue to 
be used for deploying enforcement personnel and devel- 
oping high accident location enforcement campaigns. A 
comparable system will be developed for all types of police 
activity. 

During the past year the highly successful undercover 
narcotics operation continued to make inroads in reducing 
this type of criminal activity. The operation also high- 
lighted the cooperation between MDC and cities and towns 
in the Parks District. K-9 officers and dogs as well as the 
scuba team assisted local law enforcement agencies. Further 
versatility was developed by some members of the scuba 
team who received training in bomb search and disposal 






techniques to protect MDC facilities and assist cities and 
towns when the need arises. 

Despite emphasis on recreation, parklands and a vital 
traffic network under MDC jurisdiction, Metropolitan Police 
must also be prepared to cope with a wide variety of crime, 
a goal which is being met by a dynamic approach to ever- 
changing problems of law enforcement. 



Outstanding Police Performance 
Recognized by Commendations 

Training and courage go hand in hand for out- 
standing performance of duty by officers of the Met- 
ropolitan Police. Here are some examples of events 
that have been honored in the past year by depart- 
mental commendations and citations by other agen- 
cies: 

Three officers who plunged into raging ocean surf 
in efforts to avert drowning tragedies . . . Four mem- 
bers of the scuba team recovering murder evidence 
from the bottom of the Charles River during three 
days of sub-freezing weather ... An undercover nar- 
cotics team breaking up a drug-pushing operation 
preying on high school students . . . Two undercover 
men probing drug pushers brutally beaten by a gang 
attack after their "cover" was broken, illustrating the 
extreme hazards of their assignment. 



21 



How MDC Organization Delivers Regional Services 



The Metropolitan District Commission's concept is based 
on the belief that communities in Metropolitan Boston can 
derive greater benefits with more efficiency and lower costs 
through regional operation of parks, water and sewerage 
systems. 

It has become increasingly evident that many facets of 
urban life and the environment can be developed and 
administered most effectively without regard for municipal 
boundaries. 

This trend originated in 1889 with the creation of the 
Metropolitan Sewerage Commission as the nation's first 
legally-constituted metropolitan district. Then came the 
Metropolitan Parks District in 1893 and the Metropolitan 
Water Board in 1895. The three agencies were consolidated 
into the Metropolitan District Commission in 1919 for 
greater efficiency and economy. 

Operations are governed by a 5-member Commission ap- 
pointed by the Governor. A Commissioner serves as full- 
time executive and administrative head of the agency. The 
Commissioner is joined by 4 part-time Associate Com- 
missioners at weekly meetings in setting policy, approving 
contracts and participating in decisions on departmental 
operations. The Commissioner and Associate Commissioners 
each have an equal vote, except that "concurrence of the 
Commissioner and of not less than 2 Associate Commis- 
sioners shall be required for the execution of contracts and 
of such other official actions of the Commission as may be 
required by law." 

The Reorganization Act of 1969 establishing a cabinet 
system placed MDC under the jurisdiction of the Executive 
Office of Environmental Affairs, headed by Secretary 
Charles H. W. Foster. 

As a department of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
MDC must obtain approval of its operating budget and bond 
issues for capital construction from the Governor and 
Legislature. 

To keep cities and towns informed about activities, public 
hearings are required annually for municipal officials in the 
Parks, Sewerage and Water Districts regarding improvements, 
extensions, new facilities and financial data. 

In addition to central administrative functions, MDC is 
presently organized into 6 operational divisions: Water, 
Sewerage, Construction Engineering, Parks and Recreation, 
Park Engineering and Police. 

All legal aspects of the agency's functions are supervised 
by the Office of General Counsel, such as drafting legal 
opinions, contracts, proposed legislation, directives and rules 
and regulations, dealing with public bidding procedure, con- 
ducting or participating in quasi-judicial hearings in the areas 
of personnel, labor relations and police administration, and 
advising the Commission on various questions of law. 

A Planning Section is primarily concerned with park and 



recreational development, roadway system improvements, 
landscaping and open space acquisition. The Financial 
Office operates a data-processing unit for payroll and other 
departmental uses, processes all receipts and disbursements, 
maintains fiscal records and serves as the department's ac- 
counting office. Interviews and job placement functions 
are handled by a Personnel Office, which also negotiates 
collective bargaining agreements, maintains personnel re- 
cords, co-ordinates enrollment in training courses and 
conducts an alcoholic rehabilitation program. 

Environment and open space have been given high 
priority status, leading to creation of new Environmental 
Planning, Land Planning and Environmental Quality units, 
which are playing a key role in MDC programs. 

A reference library has been established as a source of 
historical data, publications, reports and other data. 

Another resource is a newly -organized language bank, 
with departmental personnel capable of conversing, reading 
and writing in 21 languages. 

ENGINEERING DIVISION 

The Construction Engineering Division is responsible for 
planning, engineering and supervising construction of facili- 
ties for the Water and Sewerage Divisions, flood control and 
some Parks District projects. The completed facilities are 
turned over to the operating divisions for maintenance and 
operation. 

Twenty -five contracts were in various stages of construc- 
tion or completed during fiscal 1973, totaling $43,611,987. 

Awarded in this period were 13 contracts amounting to 
$5,300,332. They included 2 for the water system at 
$20,750; 10 for sewage disposal or pollution control, 
$4,488,822, and 1 for flood control, $790,760. 

Six were previously awarded and still in progress for a 
total of $32,341,536. One of these was for the Water Divi- 
sion at $19,100,385; 4 for Sewerage, $7,842,579, and a 
drainage and flood control project at $5,398,571. 

Six contracts awarded prior to 1973 amounting to 
$5,970,117 were completed and 6 others awarded in 1973 
were finished, totaling $312,663. Three of the completed 
contracts were for the Water Division at a cost of 
$4,268,144; 7 for the Sewerage Division, $436,726, and 2 
flood control projects at $1,577,910. 

WATER DIVISION 

The purpose of the Water Division is to provide a suf- 
ficient supply of pure water to communities in the 
Metropolitan Water District and such other cities and towns 
as can be reasonably supplied. 

Twenty-five communities receive their entire water sup- 
ply and 7 a partial supply, with an area of 309 square miles 
and 1,874,000 population. The City of Woburn (pop. 
37,406) was admitted as the 33rd member on August 9, 
1972, as a partial user, but will not be linked to the system 



22 



until completion of a new pipeline and pumping station. 
Ten communities in Central Massachusetts located near 
MDC reservoirs and aqueducts are supplied in whole or in 
part under special agreements. 

The Water District's sources are the Quabbin, Wachusett 
and Sudbury watersheds and the runoff of the Ware River 
watershed during certain periods. Storage reservoirs on these 
watersheds have a capacity of 495 billion gallons, prin- 
cipally at Quabbin Reservoir with its capacity of 412 bil- 
lion gallons and Wachusett's 67 billion gallons. 

The water supply is delivered to Metropolitan Boston 
through 121 miles of aqueducts and distributed via approx- 
imately 250 miles of pipelines, mostly by gravity flow. 

Facilities under control of the Water Division include 6 
storage reservoirs with 467 square miles of tributary water- 
shed, a water surface of 30,000 acres, 4 hydro-electric 
power stations, 16 miles of high tension power transmission 
lines, 12 distribution pumping stations to service high ele- 
vations and 16 distribution reservoirs with a capacity of 3.1 
billion gallons. 

Six contracts totaling $1,474,917 were awarded during 
fiscal 1973, including $1,396,707 for the pipeline linking 
the system with Woburn. Five previously awarded con- 
tracts were completed at a cost of $1,373,558, highlighted 
by a project relocating a large water main under Chelsea 
River between Chelsea and East Boston at a cost of 
$1,339,752. The other work dealt with various mainte- 
nance and repair requirements. 

SEWERAGE DIVISION 

An intricate sewerage and treatment system is under the 
jurisdiction of the Sewerage Division. Its vast sewage col- 
lection and pollution abatement functions require mainte- 
nance and operation of 12 pumping stations, 2 treatment 
plants, 4 pre-treatment headworks, a detention and chlo- 
rination station for combined storm water and sewage over- 
flows along Charles River Basin and 226 miles of trunk 
sewers. 

Forty-three cities and towns covering 408 square miles 
are members of the Sewerage District, with 2,219,000 in- 
habitants. Wastewater flows through 4,980 miles of local 
sewers connected to MDC trunk lines at 1,775 locations, 
an increase of 59 miles over the previous year. The munic- 
ipal lines link 391,449 individual connections with the MDC 
system, an increase of 2,233 in the past year. 

Average daily sewage load was 487 million gallons and 
the 24-hour maximum flow was 785 mgd passing through 
primary treatment and chlorination at Deer Island and Nut 
Island plants before discharge via outfalls into outer Boston 
Harbor. The process provides screening and grit removal, 
pre-chlorination, pre-aeration, primary sedimentation and 
post chlorination. Raw sludge is treated by thickening and 
high rate digestion prior to discharge. 

The Town of Holbrook became a member of the district 
in 1971, but is not contributing sewage to the system as yet. 

There were 9 contracts for maintenance and repairs 
awarded by the division or in effect during fiscal 1973, 
totaling $75,694. 



PARK ENGINEERING DIVISION 

The multi-faceted functions of the Park Engineering 
Division includes designing, engineering services, complete 
contract document preparation and supervision of new con- 
struction and major repairs of park facilities, roadways, 
bridges, drawbridges and locks, street lighting and traffic 
controls. 

Upon completion, new facilities come under the juris- 
diction of the Parks and Recreation Division for operating 
and routine maintenance. 

Sixty-seven contracts were awarded, in progress or com- 
pleted at a total cost of $10,078,559. 

PARKS & RECREATION DIVISION 

MDC's newest division is Parks and Recreation, formed in 
1970 by combining operation and maintenance of park res- 
ervations, recreational facilities and roadways with the Rec- 
reation Section. Previously, these functions were admin- 
istered by district captains of MDC Police. Operation of 
locks and drawbridges was transferred subsequently to this 
agency from the Parks Engineering Division. 

Now the largest division in MDC, Parks & Recreation has 
responsibility for 14,332 acres of parkland, including 5 
major reservations, as well as 17 miles of beaches, 25 skating 
rinks, 19 swimming pools, 3 18-hole golf courses, 168 miles 
of roadway and a wide variety of other recreational facili- 
ties, parks and reservations. The division also has adminis- 
trative and maintenance responsibility for zoos. 

POLICE DIVISION 

Primary mission of the Police Division is protection of 
MDC property and people using its facilities and patrol of 
186 miles of MDC roadways and the Northeast, Southeast 
and Central Artery expressways, within Suffolk County, 
which are maintained by the State Department of Public 
Works. The division also has full police powers in any com- 
munity where MDC has property. 

Its broad responsibility for law enforcement at parklands, 
waterways, harbor islands and roadways requires highly- 
diversified functions and equipment. Among them are K-9. 
scuba, detective, bomb disposal and narcotic units, a tactical 
force, regional police academy, patrol boats, mounted 
policemen, breathalyzers, radar and other highway safety 
and enforcement devices. 

MDC Police plays an important role in assisting local 
police departments in certain contingencies, particularly 
those requiring specialized training, equipment and man- 
power. 

RIGHT OF WAY FUNCTIONS 

The legal aspects of land takings, easements and convey- 
ances are performed by the Right of Way Section for rec- 
reational, flood control, sewerage and water supply pur- 
poses. Permits, easements, deeds and other types of 
instruments are also processed, along with maintaining and 
updating an inventors of MDC land. The section has an 
enforcement unit which deals with encroachment on MDC 
lands, pollution of rivers and streams and other similar 
violations. 



23 



Assessments Primary Source of MDC Financing 



As a regional public agency, the Metropolitan District 
Commission is financed primarily by assessments on 54 
communities which are members of one or more of its 3 
districts. 

Additional money comes from the State Highway Fund, 
State General Fund, state allocations for certain flood con- 
trol projects and miscellaneous revenue such as fees, rentals, 
licenses, permits, fines, penalties, sales, Federal reimburse- 
ments or grants, etc. 

The operating budget and bond issues for capital con- 
struction are subject to approval by the Legislature and 
Governor. 

Principal financing sources for the 3 districts are the 
following: 

PARKS - Recreational capital construction by bond 
issues, amortized by assessments based on property tax 
valuations of communities in the district; maintenance of 
boulevards and reservations and police costs by 60% from 
the State Highway Fund, 1% from the State's General Fund 
and 39% by member cities and towns with one-third based 
on population and two-thirds on valuation; highway and 
bridge construction by legislative allocations from state 
highway bond issues. 

WATER - Charge of $120 per million gallons, with special 
provisions for communities outside the Water District. 

SEWERAGE - Debt requirements apportioned on the 
basis of capacity of municipal sewers connected to MDC 
sewerage system; maintenance expense assessed on the basis 



of population. 

During the fiscal year which started July 1, 1972, and 
ended June 30, 1973, the Commission spent $39,018,166 
on maintenance and operations. The sum of $22,670,207 
was paid for interest and retirement of bonds issued for 
capital projects, and bonds to cover water fund deficits. The 
combined expenditure was $61,688,373. 

Additionally, $5,557,332 was expended for highway con- 
struction and certain flood control projects allocated from 
state highway bond issues and other special authorizations. 
These are financed by state funds rather than assessments 
on MDC cities and towns. 

The $67,245,705 total represented 58% for maintenance 
and operations, 34% for payment on bonded debt and 8% 
for expenditures from state bond funds not assessed on 
MDC cities and towns. 

Despite a cost of living pay increase averaging 3.8% and 
other effects of the inflationary trend, expenditures for 
maintenance and operations were reduced from $39,586,201 
in 1972 to $39,018,166 in 1973, a drop of $568,035. Debt 
service rose to $22,670,207, an increase of $1,567,273. 

Legislation shifting Engineering Division expense from 
long-term construction bond issues to an annual appropria- 
tion had minimal impact, for the change affected only 5 
weeks of the fiscal year. For next year, however, the 
Sewerage and Water districts will each be charged 49% of 
the division's annual budget of nearly $4 million and 2% will 
come from the state's General Fund. Use of bond funds 
had been legislatively authorized since 1926 to cover the 
Engineering Division's payroll and other costs, primarily for 
sewer, water and flood control projects. 



EXPENDITURES 



1973 







Operations 




Debt 


Administration 


$ 758,325 




- 


Parks 




24,212,201 




$ 4,825,767 


Sewerage 




6,809,462 




7,534,928 


Water 


Total 


7,238,178 
$39,018,166 


$61,688,373 


10,309,512 
$22,670,207 



Operations 

$ 756,089 

24,592,653 

6,841,356 

7,396,103 

$39,586,201 



Debt 

$ 4,150,376 
7,350,545 
9,602,013 

$21,102,934 



$60,689,135 



• I ncludes cost of MDC Police operations. 

Note — An additional $5,557,332 was spent in 1973 and $8,004,076 in 1972 for highway construction projects financed 
by state highway bond issues and flood control and other special authorizations financed by General Fund bond issues 
rather than assessments on MDC cities and towns. 



24 





PRir 




1973 


Parks 


$16,321,882 


Sewerage 


13,455,968 


Water 


12,461,148 


State 

Highway 

Fund 


14,869,303 


State 

General 

Fund 


223,351 


Revenue 


2,669,810 



PRINCIPAL INCOME SOURCES 
1972 



$12,608,369 37 Cities & Towns 

• 15,797,188 43 Cities & Towns 

12,512,424 32 Cities & Towns 

15,039,780 

220,148 

2,767,888 Admissions, Sales, 

Fees, etc. 

Deficit 3,585,000 3,680,000 

Bonds 

Total $63,586,462 $62,625,797 

* I ncludes deferred assessment of $1 ,729,454 

Note: Income figures for Water and Sewerage differ slightly from assessment table, due to various adjustments. 

The Commission continues its efforts to operate managed resources in a businesslike manner. It bears repetition that MDC's 
sale of power, licenses, fees, concession permits, etc., do not accrue to the Commission for re-use, but rather flow directly into 
the appropriate fund and thereby reduces assessments against cities and towns. Federal reimbursements ordinarily have the 
same effect. 



Largest expenditure of the Commission has been, as always, personnel, shown as follows: 

"PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES 

1973 1972 1971 

Administration $ 566,340 $ 544,111 $ 539,457 

Engineering 3,324,074 2,940.438 2.482.421 

Highway Eng. 476.456 427,007 387.581 

Parks & 

Parks Eng. 8,692,089 9,148.472 8.668,848 

Police 7,365,332 6.931.721 6.363,563 

Sewerage 4,487,642 4,336,135 4,132.322 

Water 4,922,443 4.916,154 4.643,978 

Total $29,834,376 $29,244,038 $27,218,170 

•Includes permanent, temporary and seasonal employees as of June 30. 



25 



TOTAL PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES AS OF JUNE 30 



1973 



1972 



1971 



Administration 


Perm. 
56 


Temp. 
6 


Total 
62 


Perm. 
58 


Temp. 
8 


Total 
66 


Perm. 
62 


Temp. 
6 


Tota 
68 


Engineering 


274 


- 


274 


268 


- 


268 


246 


- 


246 


Highway Engineering 


- 


46 


46 


- 


44 


44 


- 


44 


44 


Parks & Parks Eng. 


668 


940 


1608 


657 


1017 


1674 


684 


1297 


1981 


Police 


551 


23 


574 


613 


- 


613 


625 


- 


625 


Sewerage 


441 


- 


441 


454 


2 


456 


453 


13 


466 


Water 


510 


41 


551 


531 


77 


608 


555 


80 


635 


Total 


2500 


1056 


3556 


2581 


1148 


3729 


2625 


1440 


4065 



Finally, a word must be said about the debt structure for which MDC is responsible. Although there has been a flattening 
trend in terms of construction in recent years, there will soon again be substantial increases caused by the Water Division's major 
new Dorchester Tunnel and the Northfield-Quabbin Reservoir aqueduct for diverting excess Connecticut River water. In ad- 
dition, ongoing wastewater studies, accompanied by strong pressure from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency will com- 
pel a costly upgrading of the Deer Island and Nut Island sewerage treatment systems. 

When these prospects are combined with the steady climb in water deficit-financing bonds, it will be seen that the current 
debt is already overheavy and that its future condition is somewhat alarming. 

A significant factor in the Water Fund indebtedness has been the issuance of long-term bonds to cover annual deficits, a pro- 
cedure instituted by law in 1946 and responsible for borrowing $97.5 million in obligations by 1973, of which $54,541,000 
is currently outstanding. Interest payments have practically doubled the cost of payments on deficit debt. A pay-as-you- 
go system to end this practice has been urged in the past by MDC and the proposal is pending with the 1973 Legislature. 



1973 
1972 
1971 
1970 
1969 



Sewerage 
$91,301 

95.555 

93.659 

89.568 

88.942 



* Includes Water Fund deficit debt. 



OUTSTANDING DEBT, 


JUNE 30 




(In millions 


of dollars) 






* Water 






Parks 


Total 


$130,268 






$39,997 


$261,566 


129.285 






40.353 


265.193 


117.663 






37.128 


248.450 


113.536 






39.353 


242.457 


114.509 






39.856 


243.307 



26 



TOTAL ASSESSMENTS FOR METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS FOR 1972 




Metropolitan 


Metropolitan Parks 


Metropolitan 




Cities and Towns 


Water 


and Boulevards 


Sewerage System 


Total 


Arlington 


304,500.00 


384,035.68 


327,664.09 


1.016.199.77 


Ashland 






30,200.58 


30.200.58 


Belmont 


121,394.76 


293,708.23 


150.535.39 


565,638.38 


Boston 


6,375,047.52 


5,378,022.43 


4,433,362.21 


16.186,432.16 


Braintree 




225,011.72 


159,458.33 


384.470.05 


Brooklinc 


354,347.52 


649,748.72 


297,596.61 


1.301.692.85 


Burlington 






89,921.10 


89.921.10 


Cambridge 


46,803.60 


828,858.37 


908,780.07 


1.784,442.114 


Canton 


53,546.04 


90,400.17 


91,271.21 


235.217.42 


Chelsea 


170,425.32 


191,559.37 


250,199.62 


612,184.31 


Cohasset 




3,421.21 




3.421.21 


Dcdham 




207,720.79 


175.217.94 


382.938.73 


Dover 




37,088.85 




37.088.85 


Everett 


337,526.52 


500,118.46 


284,679.78 


1.122,324.76 


Framingham 






230,491.80 


230.491.80 


Hingham 




124,715.32 


38,546.51 


163,261.83 


Hull 




85,345.61 




85.345.61 


Lexington 


209,826.00 




178,788.72 


388.614.72 


Lynn 




749.120.44 




749.120.44 


Lynnfield Water District 


15,434.04 






15,434.04 


Maiden 


321,157.32 


379,998.46 


337,922.32 


1,039,078.10 


Marblehead 


101,989.20 






101.989.20 


Med ford 


364,842.12 


432,244.67 


459,769.29 


1.256.856.08 


Melrose 


125,276.52 


242,955.87 


214,369.93 


582.602.32 


Milton 


104,802.24 


250,693.32 


215,367.93 


570.863.49 


Nahant 


25,253.52 


31,046.66 




56,300. IX 


Natick 






140.218.24 


140,218.24 


Necdham 


51,265.32 


240,307.67 


160,226.76 


451.799.75 


Newton 


568,899.00 


914,410.50 


624,817.03 


2.108.126.53 


Norwood 


216.432.00 




142.054.29 


358.486.29 


Pcabody 


45,727.20 






45.727.20 


Quincy 


463,597.20 


736.762.36 


571,959.76 


1,772,319.32 


Randolph 






107.802.52 


107,802.52 


Reading 






79.099.39 


79.099.39 


Revere 


173,375.04 


267.397.11 


203,022.75 


643,794.90 


Saugus 


128.458.44 


142.932.45 




271,390.89 


Somerville 


476,253.12 


594.142.70 


512.102.55 


1.582.498.37 


Stoncham 


139,986.96 


126.796.06 


115.228.08 


382.011.10 


Stoughton 






76,694.31 


76.694 .31 


Swampscott 


72.234.60 


51.219.83 




123.454 4^ 


Wakefield 


109,309.20 


176.583.07 


133.241.77 


419.134 04 


Walpole 






69.177.96 


69.177.96 


Waltham 


495.707.16 


413.170.62 


313.954.46 


1,222,832 24 


Watcrtown 


209.676.96 


327,669.16 


226.46903 


763.815 15 


Wellcsley 




291.691.59 


127.519.61 


419,21 1.20 


Weston 


28,795.32 


96.660.40 




125.455.72 


Westwood 




87,927.78 


62.744.67 


150.67 2.45 


Weymouth 




428,633.92 


254.201 14 


682. 83 


Wilmington 






61.635 76 


61 ,635.76 


Winchester 


55.646.52 


201.775.99 


203.25 < 97 


460.678.48 


Winthrop 


79.757.52 


137,986.10 


125.81607 


-969 


Woburn 






258.067 38 


..- )g 


SI 2.347.293.80 


SI 6.321. 881.64 


$13,443.45: 93 


542. 11 2.628.39 




Note: Assessments for 1972 


were received in fi 


seel 1973 



27 



DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP 



Water 



Parks 



Sewerage 



Water 



Arlington 


X 


Ashland 




Belmont 


X 


* Bedford 




Boston 


X 


Braintree 




Brookline 


X 


Burlington 




Cambridge 


X 


Canton 


X 


Chelsea 


X 


Cohasset 




Dedham 




Dover 




Everett 


X 


Framingham 




Hingham 




*Holbrook 




Hull 




Lexington 


X 


Lynn 




Lynnfield 




Water Dist. 


X 


Maiden 


X 


Marblehead 


X 


Medford 


X 


Melrose 


X 


Milton 


X 


Nahant 


X 


Natick 




Needham 


X 


Newton 


X 


Norwood 


X 


Peabody 


X 


Quincy 


X 


Randolph 




Reading 





Revere 


X 


Saugus 


X 


Somerville 


X 


Stoneham 


X 


Stoughton 




Swampscott 


X 


Wakefield 


X 


Walpole 




Waltham 


X 


Watertown 


X 


Wellesley 




Weston 


X 


Westwood 




Weymouth 




Wilmington 




Winchester 


X 


Winthrop 


X 


**Woburn 


X 



Totals 



33 



Parks 

x 
x 

X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 



37 



Sewerage 
x 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

43 



(Beyond the Water District the MDC furnishes 
the entire water supply for Chicopee, South 
Hadley Fire District No. 1 and Wilbraham, a 
partial supply to Clinton, Framingham, Leom- 
inster, Marlboro, Northboro and Southboro and 
an emergency standby connection for Wor- 
cester.) 



Membership 

3 Districts 
2 Districts 
1 District 



23 
13 
18 

54 



•Bedford joined the Sewerage District in June, 1970, with sewage for part of the town handled through the town of 
Lexington under special contract. Holbrook became a member of Sewerage District in January, 1971, but is not con- 
tributing sewage to the system. 

••Woburn was admitted to Water District in August, 1972, but receives no supply pending construction of a new pipe- 
line and pumping station. 



28 



METROPOLITAN DISTRICT COMMISSION 
District Membership 

Parks - Water - Sewerage 
Total Members -54 

Member of all three MDC districts 

Member of two districts 
D Member of one district 
P Parks - 37 
If Water - 33 
S Sewerage - 43 




Note: Woburn was admitted to Water District August 9. 1972. but received no supply pending 

construction of a new pipeline and pumping station.